64th Street: A Detective Story

About

Two player co op beat 'em up with side scrolling brawls and dual protagonists. Rick and Allen punch through waves of thugs in a story driven arcade romp. Each character wields distinct movesets and the ability to smash backgrounds for power ups by hurling enemies into scenery. The 1991 game leans into classic beat 'em up tropes with colorful villains ranging from breakdancing punks to eye patch wielding pirates. Boss encounters mix creative attack patterns with environmental hazards as the plot thickens. The narrative follows a kidnapping case that shifts from neon lit streets to steampunk airships. A coded message in a newspaper ad drives the investigation toward the Legacy organization's hidden base. The game's blend of 80s fashions and retro futuristic design gives it a distinct visual flair. With co op mechanics that encourage teamwork and a progression into a climactic blimp battle, this Jaleco release offers a niche but punchy experience. Community archives note its obscurity compared to contemporaries but highlight the chaotic fun of breaking objects and bad guys in equal measure.

Storyline

The story starts out in a typical Double Dragon/Final Fight style setting at 64th Street with two protagonists: Rick (Anderson), a calm and intelligent, 35-year old professional private detective and manager of the detective agency; and Allen (Tombs), a 19-year old, reformed delinquent trained by Rick, who is "short-tempered and violent when angry". At the start of the plot, an evil corporation known as the Legacy organization, kidnapped the daughter of a mid-aged rich man and left him a letter explaining why they kidnapped her. Late one night, before Rick and Allen was about to close their office, the mid-aged rich man, rushed inside the office while being exhausted. He asked for support on saving his daughter and gave the letter to Rick and Allen. The next day, Allen notices an advertisement in the classifieds with similar sentence structure to the letter left by the kidnappers. Rick couldn't understand it so easily, until Allen told him to look cautiously at both, the letter and the ad. They soon realised that the writing was actually a secret code, only understood by certain crime lords, so Rick and Allen struggled toward the main base of the Legacy organisation to find the truth and save the kidnapped daughter. The setting later takes on a steampunk feel as it goes along, coming to a head in a battle inside a blimp.